i'm jim axelrod. a lot of holiday plans are out the window tonight due to a powerful storm system that stranded travelers on highways and at airports. it's blamed in at least six deaths. in the south, there are reports that 41 tornadoes have touched down since yesterday. one of them sheered off the front of the trinity episcopal church in mobile, alabama. luckily, no one was injured. the same system brought a blizzard to parts of the midwest, forcing the cancellation of more than 1,400 flights. tonight, it's headed to the northeast. winter storm warnings have already been posted. troy kehoe of our cbs station in indianapolis begins our coverage. troy? >> reporter: well, jim, here in bloomington, indiana, we've already seen 11.5 inches of snow so far, and it is still coming down with blizzard conditions here in the midwest. this has been a two-day storm leaving much of the country paralyzed. blinding snow with wind gusts topping 35 miles an hour have created whiteout conditions in the plains in midwest